AYDEN, N.C. — A team at East Carolina University took on an interesting new archeology project last year. Charlie Ewen and his students have been mapping out a neglected African American cemetery in Ayden. 

A team at ECU is mapping out a neglected African American cemetery in Ayden

There are about 400 graves dating from 1918 to 1972

ECU students are mapping out the location of the graves

Soon the team will interview community members to learn about the cemetery's history

Ewen says graveyards like this are common, but this is the biggest one he's worked on with almost 400 graves.

“You figure a whole community is using it for over 50 years,” Ewen said. “So you know these things tend to fill up.”

Ever since he learned about the site, he's taken groups of students to clean up the area and record information about the people buried there.

Although some of the graves are simply depressions in the ground, others have engraved headstones or granite slabs. The graves date from 1918 to 1972 when desegregation allowed the Black community to use another cemetery.

However, Ewen isn't just interested in mapping out the area, he wants to learn more about its history too.

“We just want to know what place this occupied in the community when it was active,” Ewen said. “We want to know what the process was when it becomes neglected.”

Mayor Pro Tem Ivory Mewborn wants people to know that the older community in Ayden still remembers the cemetery. Eventually the town told the elders they couldn't just come in and clean up someone's gravesite. So it slowly became overgrown and run down.

“We always knew it was here. Maybe the general public didn't, but the elders did,” Mewborn said. “That's the narrative that's going in the community. Let the truth be known it was never abandoned.”

Now, the town of Ayden is happy to see Ewen and his team reviving the graveyard.

“With the work that they've come in and done,” Mewborn said. “I think that's going to speak volumes in this region.”

Ewen is happy to restore this piece of history.

“This is a great learning experience for my students, and if we can help out a community, that makes it all the more meaningful to them,” Ewen said.

Later this year, another ECU professor will be interviewing community members in order to piece together the history of this cemetery. Eventually they hope to post a formal map at the graveyard with a key telling visitors the names of the people buried there.